LIV Golf, at last, is going to announce a couple of signings after so much negative news. Two new names are joining their roster for the next season. Thomas Detry and Elvis Smylie are about to sign for the Saudi league, according to The Times, in a move that comes in the middle of the winter market and with the feeling that, this time, it’s harder than ever to attract big stars.
If confirmed, Detry would be the most significant signing for LIV in recent months, although far from the impact of two years ago with signings of the calibre of Jon Rahm or Tyrrell Hatton, the last truly notable operations of the circuit.
Detry, the Belgian who already won on the PGA Tour
Detry, 32 years old and 57th in the world ranking, made a historic step for his country less than a year ago by becoming the first Belgian to win a PGA Tour tournament, with a convincing victory by seven strokes at the WM Phoenix Open. In 2025, he had a very solid season: 19 cuts made in 24 tournaments and 44th in the FedEx Cup, numbers that make him an attractive profile for any league. However, he doesn’t have the status of a superstar. At least, not for now.
According to The Times, the most likely destination for the Belgian would be 4Aces, the team captained by Dustin Johnson, which would reunite him with Thomas Pieters, his compatriot and one of the European names with the most weight within LIV since the early stages of the project. Detry’s signing for the 4Aces would move Harold Varner III to Talor Gooch’s team, with Detry indirectly covering Koepka’s departure. The swap is very negative for LIV.
Smylie, Australian youth for Cameron Smith’s “corral”
The other signing would be Elvis Smylie, a 23-year-old Australian, 127th in the world and one of the country’s most promising young talents. Smylie was 23rd in the Race to Dubai last season on the DP World Tour and has a recent high-profile title at home: he won the Australian PGA Championship in November 2024, holding off Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open champion. This year, he narrowly missed out on the PGA Tour through the Race to Dubai.
Precisely because of that national connection, The Times suggests it would make sense to see him at Ripper GC, Smith’s “Aussie” team. There, there’s also movement: Matt Jones is listed in this week’s LIV Golf Promotions in Florida, the tournament that allocates spots for 2026, opening the door to changes in that franchise.
A challenging market: Koepka leaves and LIV needs to fill gaps
With a month to go before the season starts (the first tournament is scheduled from 4 to 7 February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), the big news this winter hasn’t been an arrival, but a departure: Brooks Koepka decided to leave LIV despite having a year left on his contract, news that stirred the hornet’s nest.
Meanwhile, LIV continues to rebuild: this winter they already added Laurie Canter and Victor Perez and have also increased the number of participants for 2026 to 57 players, aiming to fill the last spots in the coming weeks. All this while maintaining their strategy of changes — including the shift to 72-hole tournaments — in their attempt to strengthen their bid to gain world ranking points. Of the 57 players, five will compete only for individual titles, the two from the International Series and the three who will qualify through the School.
